Some pre-packaged types of pharmaceuticals are marketed by drug manufacturers in unprepared form, that a pharmacist must prepare or reconstitute before dispensing. For example, certain suspensions of antibiotics such as amoxicillin are marketed as a dry powder which partially fills a sealed bottle. Thus, a pharmacist who stocks amoxicillin, stocks bottles containing a predetermined amount of dry powder. To fill a prescription, the pharmacist adds a predetermined amount of a liquid such as water to the bottle to reconstitute the suspension in accordance with preparation instructions printed on a manufacturer's label adhered to the bottle. The reconstituted prescription is then dispensed to the pharmacist's customer.
Typically, the manufacturer's label comprises three sections. There is a first end-section having an adhesive on its rear surface for adhering to the bottle and a second end-section having an adhesive on its rear surface for adhering to the bottle. Connected between the first and second end-sections is a relatively wide central section which has a non-adhesive rear surface. The central section is connected to the first and second end-sections by means of perforations. Typically, the front surface of the central section is printed with the name of the manufacturer, the manufacturer's trademark, a description of the pharmaceutical product contained in the bottle, dosage information and warnings for the pharmacist, as well as preparation instructions for the pharmacist.
Before dispensing the bottle, the pharmacist removes the central section of the manufacturer's label by tearing along the perforations. This results in a large area which the pharmacist uses to attach his own label. Typically, the pharmacist's own label includes the pharmacy name and telephone number, the prescription number, the prescribing physician's name, the pharmaceutical contained in the bottle, patient instructions, and other patient information such as warnings.
Unfortunately, the conventional three-section manufacturer's label described above has proven unsatisfactory for many pharmacists, the reason being that it is difficult for many pharmacists to grasp a portion of the non-adhesively backed central label section for easy tearing along the perforations connecting it to the two end sections. Instead of being easily removable as a single unit, the central section of the manufacturer's label tears too easily, typically in a random pattern, and is in general a nuisance for the pharmacist to remove.